Agreements between local authorities and voluntary youth groups are biased in favour of the government and are stifling innovation, voluntary sector workers have claimed. Several delegates at last week's National Council for Voluntary Youth Services' annual conference raised concerns that service level agreements, or compacts, benefit the public sector unfairly and restrict voluntary youth groups from embarking on projects considered risky. In response to delegates' criticisms of the agreements, Harmander Singh, policy adviser to Sikhs in England, said: "The compact is extremely comfortable for the public sector." He said voluntary sector partners suffer when agreements fail to deliver results because funding can...